(ATHENS, Ohio) — The Ohio University
Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine’s
(OU-HCOM) Tropical Disease Institute (TDI)
and its partner, the Center for
Infectious Disease Research at the
Pontificia Universidad Católica del
Ecuador (Catholic University of Ecuador)
in Quito, Ecuador, will join forces to
host the first National Meeting on
Research into Chagas Disease on March
18.

A potentially life-threatening illness
caused by a protozoan parasite spread by
insects, blood transfusions and
congenial contact, Chagas disease is the
focus of research by OU-HCOM and the
Catholic University of Ecuador. Chagas
affects 13 million people, mainly in the
Americas; approximately 200,000
Ecuadorians are infected with the
disease.

The parasite, called Trypanosoma
cruzi, is transmitted by
bloodsucking insects known as
triatomines. The parasites commonly
infect wild and domestic mammals in
South and Central America, including
humans. Human infection with the
parasite—Chagas
disease—is
a major public health concern in Latin
America.

One of the major hurdles to Chagas
disease control is the limited awareness
and knowledge by the population and
authorities,” said Mario Grijalva,
Ph.D., associate professor of
microbiology and director of the
institute at OU-HCOM.

“The
purpose of the conference is to raise
awareness about Chagas disease in
Ecuador,” said Mario Grijalva, Ph.D.,
associate professor of microbiology and
director of the TDI. The first National
Meeting on Research into Chagas Disease
conference, which will be held at the
Catholic University of Ecuador, will be
preceded by the 5th Meeting
of the Chagas Epidemiological Network
Project, attended by researchers and
scientists from the United States, eight
European countries and seven Latin
American countries, he said.

The several hundred participants
expected at the conference will include
health professionals and governmental
officials, Grijalva said. In addition to
raising awareness of the problem,
conference organizers intend to generate
greater financial and other government
support to combat the disease,
especially in areas of public health
programs and in scientific and
eradication research, he said.

“This will be a meeting of the minds and
a way to encourage collaboration,”
Grijalva said. “But first, we need to
raise awareness and provide an effort to
improve care, research and acceptance of
the problem by getting people working
together and talking with each other.”

Grijalva called Chagas disease a
“neglected disease,” since little action
has been taken to prevent its
transmission and limited research has
been conducted regarding treatment. The
disease mainly affects underserved
populations, especially those living in
poverty.

“Very little was known about Chagas
disease in Ecuador when I started doing
research,” said Grijalva, originally
from Ecuador, who started researching
Chagas disease in 1992. He explained
that there was a lack of awareness about
the disease because researchers did not
have the resources and skills necessary
to study it and advocate for policies
and programs that would help stop its
transmission.

“Since then, funding from the World
Health Organization, the National
Institutes of Health and the European
Union, among others, has allowed us to
create research infrastructure and train
personnel that can generate the
knowledge needed,” Grijalva said.
“However, much remains to be done to
gather the public and political support
needed to improve diagnostic and
treatment capacity in the country.”

“We are fortunate that so many
distinguished scientists have accepted
our invitation to come to Ecuador.
“I hope that it will have an important
impact on our overall efforts in the
country and will bring international
attention to the problem of Chagas
disease in Ecuador,” Grijalva said.